1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for bending a thin metallic pipe at a number of portions and more particularly to such type of device that is suitable for a case in which the bending directions of the bending portions of the pipe are not in the same plane but different in three-dimensional directions as in the cases of a fuel pipe, brake pipe and the like for an automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, the bending device of the above type has had the structure such that as described in the specification of U.S. patent application Ser. No.340,224 filed on Apr. 19, 1989 by the present applicant in relation to a thin metallic pipe bending device, one end, or the intermediate portion, of a straight metallic pipe is fixed bY a clamp and a bending member is gradually moved forward or circularly from the fixed end, or the fixed intermediate portion, of the pipe toward the free end, or both free ends, of the pipe so that the metallic pipe is bent along a mold form while it is pressed against the mold form.
However, the conventional thin metallic pipe bending device has had the problems that since it is necessary to provide an actuator, e.g., a cylinder at each bending section of the mold form, the cylinder interferes with other parts of the device, or the cylinders themselves interfere with each other so that they are unable to be installed or they have to be set by using a complicated mechanism and further that the actuator interferes with the moving metallic pipe when the pipe is turned round due to its bending.